Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, was largely stating the obvious when he gave the first clear sign yet that Canada may be rethinking its stated intention to purchase 65 F-35 stealth fighter jets. Addressing the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence on Tuesday, Mr. Fantino said that the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not “as yet discounted, the possibility, of course, of backing out of … the program.”

The F-35 jets will be much more capable than Canada’s existing, 30-year-old CF-18 jets, but their development has been plagued by cost overruns and delays. Some allies have reduced their planned purchases of the jet, a major selling point of which would be its commonality among NATO and other major allied air forces. The U.S. Congress, facing massive deficits, is also eying the program warily. But the Conservatives have continued to stick to the line that they intend to buy the best equipment available, and that’s the F-35. They have cited the fact that the F-35 is a fifth-generation plane, and the only one on the market, with all other competitors being deemed fourth-generation, or 4.5, at best.

Mr. Fantino’s comments therefore seemed like a major climb-down from the controversial program, with an estimated price tag of $16-billion. But it’s not quite that, at least not yet — Mr. Fantino also said to the committee that the government maintains an “absolute, renewed commitment” to the F-35. He added that “no one is pulling out” of the program. But when pushed on the per-plane cost of the program, Mr. Fantino said that that figure isn’t known yet, and added, “That decision will be made if any when those factors are known to us, and the decision will be made as to whether or not Canada will actually enter a contract to purchase the F-35.”

Clear as mud, that. Canada is fully committed to buying the F-35, assuming we decide to do that, which we may not. Everyone got it?

As Mr. Fantino later clarified to reporters, he was simply trying to be “realistic” — Canada wants to buy F-35s, but hasn’t actually put pen to paper yet. No contract has been signed, no agreement finalized. Granted. But Mr. Fantino’s words clearly show the government’s unease. Production delays, even brief ones, could make the plane more expensive: Our current CF-18s will be at the end of their service lives by 2020, potentially forcing Canada to buy replacements in the initial F-35 production phase, when the planes are most expensive. That would mean buying fewer, if the government is serious about sticking within the existing budget. But the proposed 65 jets are the absolute bare minimum the Air Force insists it needs do meet all its obligations.

It would clearly be prudent for the government to consider other options. This does not mean that the government should rule out a purchase of F-35s, but simply recognize that if they come, delays or higher than expected prices may leave the Air Force with too few jets. National Post columnist John Ivison has already reported that the Air Force is looking into adding armed drones to Canada’s military capabilities, and the editorial board has previously urged the government to consider buying a second, less-expensive plane to complement a reduced number of F-35s.

But the government seems to have no intention of planning for that potential rainy day. When specifically asked by a member of the Defence committee if the government had a back-up plan, Mr. Fantino repeated that the government remains committed to purchasing the F-35, and said only that the government would “think it through further” as the process developed. He declined to go further than that, calling such speculation hypothetical, but added that the government would not leave Canada or its service members in the lurch.

That’s a relief. But living up to that is going to mean development some backup plans — even hypothetical, speculative ones — and fast. If Canada does need to order a different plane to either replace or augment the F-35, that purchase will need years to be filled. The CF-18s are running out of life. If the government is serious about not leaving the military in the lurch, it had better begin planning now.